this week join me in the American Southwest as I explore one of our theologies greatest mysteries why did the ancient inhabitants of this land the Anasazi build these incredible cliff dwellings only to abandon them decades later and seemingly disappear from history unbelievable to find out I'm going to take to the air dangle from dangerous cliffs and explore some of America's most spectacular archaeological sites we're digging for the truth and we're going to extreme to do it I'll meet you over there [Music] Mesa Verde southwestern Colorado land of rugged canyons soaring mesas and some of America's most stunning prehistoric ruins it ever since these abandoned villages were first discovered in the late 19th century they've puzzled visitors and archaeologists pretty incredible huh can you imagine building something like this on the face of a cliff and actually living up here hi I'm Josh Bernstein the American Southwest is my home but I've never gotten to the bottom of its most fascinating mystery until now why did the Anasazi decide to move to the cliff signs and why would they then abandon this entire region only decades later never to return these questions are at the heart of a debate now raging between archeologists and Native Americans at stake is the traditional image of the peaceful Anasazi everyone agrees that's how they began the people who became known as the Anasazi started to farm this area of the American Southwest as early as 180 for most of their history they lived in small scattered villages on the mesas and in the valleys but in the middle of the 13th century something happened the Anasazi began to cluster together they built high walls around their settlements or took too precarious step of moving whole villages onto the cliff sides then fewer than 50 years later they abandoned these homes - leaving behind most of their possessions as if they plan to return instead they seemed to disappear from history where the Anasazi invaded by another tribe or did they succumb to drought why did this complex and far-reaching civilization suddenly collapse what happened my exploration begins with Larissa Kumar one a ranger at Mesa Verde National Park in addition to her years teaching people about these ruins Larissa is also a member of the Hopi Tribe the Hopi claimed the Anasazi are their ancestors and Larissa's insights may point me in the right direction so there's no running rivers no streams in the bottom of any of these canyons so their main water source would have been seep Springs so there's no water down there no water the only water would be in the back these alcoves here it is why it's thought that's the reason why the transition happened you know from the Mesa top sites down into these cliff dwellings you got the water source right there why not build closer to them Larissa's answer was practical but I felt it avoided an important question the Anasazi could have accessed these seep Springs without living on the faces of these cliffs why subject an entire community to such exposure and risk many archaeologists now think that the ancient Anasazi had a darker side marked by massacres and even cannibalism could violence explain the move to the cliffs the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are certainly impressive but there are hundreds of other sites throughout this region perhaps seeing some other dwellings would give me greater insights into why the Anasazi made such a drastic move to do this I need a significant change of perspective this is a twin see twin prop home built experimental plane while it might not comply with FAA regulations it's open cockpit makes it perfect for spotting cliffs logistics where the camera goes where they fly my pilots get blanky he flew p-51 Mustangs during world war ii neither do i so we're even on that scorch ash with those encouraging words we're off flying in a plane that feels like it's made of rubber bands and balsa wood this part of the Southwest is known as the four corners the place where Arizona Colorado Utah and New Mexico come together it was the heart of the Anasazi homeland for more than a thousand years today most of this region is covered with forests of pinyon pine and juniper yet 900 years ago it was full of fields of corn squash and beans archaeologists believe the Anasazi supported 40 to 50,000 people in this area perhaps Larisa was right perhaps some of the Anasazi water sources dried out forcing them toward the steep springs I'm imagining what it must have been like to move off the tops of the mesas and onto the sides of the cliffs talk about living on the edge think of the children and elderly on these cliff faces and they did this throughout the Four Corners region even in some of the most remote and desolate canyons why would the Anasazi make such a change take such a risk what could these massive stone walls offer them to make the move worthwhile to answer these questions I need to get my feet back on solid ground where I can hike and explore some of the more isolated cliff dwellings to help me get to these distant dwellings I'm teaming up with Vaughn Hayden fel Vaughn is an accomplished mountaineer and local guide who knows these canyons and their Anasazi sites like the back of his whether hands Iman yeah nice to meet you it's going well it's beautiful day good I heard you're the man you can show me some remote sites Vaughn spent the last 20 years exploring the ruins of Utah's cedar Mesa plateau he's played a critical role in the preservation and interpretation of many sites he's excited to take me to one of his favorites I hold on this section here looks a little tough we drive in as far as we can go the rest will be on foot where we're going is yeah and you know it's a fairly difficult route in there so and that's yet the blooms there Vaughn tells me this plateau is cut by dozens of sheer slick rock canyons where the Anasazi lived we'll have to rappel to get down into one all right here we are see we're headed over there yeah get that lower set of ruins up against the cliff face that's an upper set of ruins right up in there Wow right under that cliff yeah people actually lived yeah apparently so you know it's an amazing thing but people were hunkered all over in these this is kind of that final phase before the abandonment here so people are getting defensive and they're starting to hunker into these little spots that have water they're defending tomorrow I would think so and I think that's got to be part of what's going on you know that they're here they've got these towers across here if you look right across the canyon here we have tower another collapse tower you know showing that they're in control of this little spring here that's good right the watch towers intrigued me what were they watching for one thing that continues to blow me away every time I see these sites is first of all how well they blend in to the rocks around him if he didn't know where to look he can miss it like that she'd never see that thing and second why would they build on the face of a cliff just seems like the worst place to be dragging rocks and making a shelter for the night [Music] have you used this tree as an anchor before no okay I'm gonna follow how far down is the truck one of these days I'll get used to doing stuff like this hopefully the rope it's you know how to buckle it and all that have you used this kind of mobile device before no and don't do water repelling Oh so are you comfortable doing this you're walking off the cliff part be alright but you've never really I don't usually the rope I thought you said you've repelled yeah I just don't usually turn myself in you feel well I mean you guys this is your your choice here I mean they don't care if I die I'm nice for good TV the trick is is the the I tell you I love you mom the trick is the getting down to the bottom how do you rappel down just a section before no no and see I don't know I don't do that yeah I don't know what you're but if you get hung up down there there's not much I'm gonna be able to do to help you I mean if I figured over my head yeah what else could happen flip upside down yeah just understanding how you know how your defender work well you said two ropes that's thick so it's gonna be I'm gonna be feeding it through and it this way I break on he might wait why right sounds good to me what down so why we're here and with that I begin my descent pile on him the really hard part comes halfway down where the rock face just disappears one wrong step here my feet flip over my head and I'm in serious trouble I'm in southeastern Utah rappelling down a cliff face just a heads the lift it's a toughest part poor footwork here we'll send my feet flying over my head and I'll be left dangling hundreds of feet above solid ground I can almost hear the sigh of relief from my guide vaad Hayden Felton he was easing me down navigating these cliffs gives me a new appreciation for the ancient Anasazi who lived in them it's their mystery on pursuing out here on Utah's cedar Mesa plateau why did the Anasazi move into the cliffs and then disappear from this area eight hundred years ago and Mesa Verde I learned that Native Americans believed the cause was trout but some archeologists think it's a lot more complicated and violent credible spiral you know it's a really large one pigments still in pretty good shape give me a sense of what that meant the spiral you know hope ease and people who claim ancestral heritage here have you know meanings to it you know it might be in a migration or their people or this could just be the marker of these people at this site saying you know this is us we're here when drawings just over this way yeah let's go down and have a look at that the best part we're coming right out to the edge of this ledge you know what's getting starts getting that kind of defensive nature wall here like a little good view of the town greenery there corn cobs still on your granary see the corn drive yeah this is amazing these corn cobs are over eight hundred years old and they're still here as if as if they were left just yesterday we're coming right out to the edge of this ledge this is my favorite part of this particular site this little end ruin all the rock art images on this whole wall the large panel we have bear tracks and Mountain Lion tracks you've got this bighorn sheep down here hands from Orphic figures big long zigzag that comes across this whole entire wall panel here she is yeah it's kind of a jewel at the end of end of the trail hi I'm Wow we came down all the way back there yeah why I live here why why build this here oh I see the tower I wish we saw it on the way down I guess it's the view this is it really so stunning that's a stunning view but another question that's dead what I don't get is this isn't easy now they had to bed bring these rocks here if not if not break them from the wall and there's a lot of work yeah so why you no wife why live here why bring their babies and their grandchildren to such a precarious location and and live their lives here because something's going on that's forcing them into these kind of situations well it was certainly striking it had to been something to to get people to have to bring their their living up into these kind of places mm-hmm you know out on ledges you know you've got huge drops right out from the your doorway you can't really see you have to mix mortar get water up here to mix all this mortar to put these stones together it's just an amazing amount of effort and it's not easy as you can see what the closest water here is down in the canyon bottom these holes they're called loop holes but what are they seeing this one shows me basically that big rock yeah which could be a route of people coming up into this site so if you start looking at these they're called loop holes start looking through them a lot of times along walls they point in different directions happening so some people would call this a very defensive posturing type of aspect to this architecture you know it could be yeah you could be looking at your water you could be looking at a Ledge where somebody might come across to to come into your site possibly to attack you whatever so some people interpret these is another kind of defensive type of posturing in these loopholes walls you know this is kind of the last structure on this whole ledge system you know is this is this the final hold out right here we don't know and I'd like to stay longer the sun's starting to hit down over the canyon rim and we probably ought to start heading out of here the Anasazi hideaway definitely felt like an outpost or watchtower but what were they watching for dawn says that they're most likely enemy the Navajo didn't come to this area for at least another hundred years in fact there doesn't seem to be evidence of any other tribes around here in the 13th century so who was the enemy I need to find out what was happening to the Anasazi before they moved into the cliffs it's time to visit an old friend he's a developer near Cortez Colorado just down the road from Mesa Verde there's no bigger enthusiast about the Anasazi he's found hundreds of ruins on his land entire villages where the Indians lived before they took to the cliffs RC always sir his name is he's uncovered some pretty incredible evidence which could explain what drove the Anasazi to take refuge a lot of new sites a lot of them and we've done a lot of work here how many of you ad right now well we're up to about 215 sites across the property right now Archie's prized site is this partially reconstructed pueblo that probably housed about 20 people or four families [Music] it was occupied continuously from around 6:50 to 1150 ad one of the most fascinating things Archie's found is a maze of tunnels that connect the communal rooms or kiba's with the other living areas and I've just got to explore where they go but I find out the hard way how small these people were the men were about five for the women only five feet tall tight squeeze arch at six feet and 180 pounds I can barely squeeze through it and this is only the beginning of what Archie's excavations have uncovered and can you imagine finding this many pot shards and this is just a small tray sample look at these quick this look at this corrugated pot you can imagine finding that not just on the trail but on your own property it's stunning out I would be excited I'd be excited if I just found this piece but he's got buckets and buckets and buckets and buckets look at all these studies macro botanical remains bio archaeology of disarticulated remains faunal remains disturbed sites he's invested so much time and the benefit is that all of us get a much clearer picture of who the Anasazi really were and what Archie and his team of archaeologists have found is far from the traditional image of the peaceful Anasazi are you finding any bones in your sights here Oh everyone everyone yes we did we found several several bodies over here we found over in the end one so the picture here was not one of a peaceful village well that they didn't leave this in a peaceful condition this is evidently the end of the trip for them this was death and violence there were three sunken Kiva's in this Pueblo they were once the heart of Anasazi communal life this is beautiful but they became the scene of horrible massacres with strong evidence of cannibals did you find any bodies or any bones in here in this particular one no but we found some that were in the center one and the other one down at the end all of them indicated cannibals everyone contributed to it yes they were broken up there are many different signs the signature of cannibalism is extremely positive there have to be seven particularly salient facts there oh they're just too numerous some pot polish on the end of the green strict fractures they have to have the bones broken open the marrow extracted from that bodies disarticulated heads missing vertebrae's they're no hands no feet this is controversial stuff Native Americans strongly object to their ancestors being characterized as cannibals yet many archaeologists find the evidence in Anasazi sites compelling they cite signs like pot polish tiny areas of polish that form when a bone is cooked in a clay pot and cut marks and abrasions that are identical to those seen on animals which have been consumed what Archie was saying was that his site is full of such evidence we we had a 14 year old male and estimated 21 year old male and they were assured and probably consumed down there because they found them on parts and pieces in the fire pit and on the benches going around etc we reinterred what we could find in in that other Kiva into the wall after the massacre evidence suggests that any remaining residents abandoned his pueblos and moved on what made them decide as a community time to go well I I think that if I was back in that day and age and I had a marauding force come in here and wipe out an entire Pueblo where I was living stuffed bodies and the Kiva and everything else that I would think was a not a very good place to live and I think I would move I would want more protection so you're saying that the warfare wasn't internal there was actually Marauders coming into these communities well you've opened a whole box of guesses about that one and my guess would be that they were outside external forces was that a neighbor who did not have sufficient food and you had a food supply or whether there were people coming from Mexico which is a big conjecture about this thing at this time using Archie's Wi-Fi network I searched the web for evidence of Anasazi cannibalism suspicious bones have been found at about 50 archaeological sites not a lot when you look at the whole history of the Anasazi but the curious thing is that almost all the evidence dates from the same period beginning around 900 AD and peaking around 1150 these dates correspond exactly to the time when Anasazi civilization was dominated by a place called Chaco Canyon a city as mysterious as it is grand it's also in the middle of nowhere mutilated bones evidence of cannibalism everything Archie Hanson said at his Pueblo seems to point to something going terribly wrong in the Anasazi world by the mid 12th century and the clues to this violence point to Chaco Canyon the Anasazi greatest achievement now a desolate ruin in the New Mexico desert on cedar Mesa I saw some convincing evidence that fear drove the Anasazi into the cliffs to understand the root of that fear I have to understand Chaco and what shook the walls of that great stone city I need to see these ruins from above so I've called in my friend Bob Peters with his PPG to help get me into the air PPG is short for powered paraglider and Chaco so big I need something like this contraption to get the lay of the land but strong winds can make flying tricky even fatal if I'm not careful 80 pounds of wind machine 28 or in a small step prop Claire if you can run 30 feet with 80 pounds on your back without getting out of breath you can fly a Pikachu [Music] if it's calm you can travel about 25 miles per hour and stay up for three hours on just four gallons of gas pretty economical for views like these but the fun is flying slow and low it's amazing how much you can see that's choco in its heyday from about 900 to 1150 ad it was a huge cultural center for much of the four corners people dragged tree trunks for up to 50 miles to erect these enormous buildings the biggest is Pueblo Bonito it was four or five stories high with 800 rooms archaeologists believe that a thousand people lived here in what's been called the largest apartment building in the world until the late 1800s there's nothing like it in prehistoric North America once again I feel the need to see it up close and on foot Chaco was much more than just a city it was a ceremonial power house where people gathered from miles around to worship their gods in great kiba's like these but by 1150 the city was completely abandoned its inhabitants scattered archaeologists are still trying to figure out what went wrong was it drought too many people with too few resources or did something more sinister take place to bring down this great city the crumbling stone walls don't offer many clues but the wooden beams might I've come to one of the only intact rooms left in Pueblo Bonito how is this really a pretty start beam oh yes this is the original roof support of this room Wow and we're going all the way to the center of the building into an ancient roof beam may seem pretty strange but when studying structures like Chaco this is one of the most important tools archaeologists use 18-volt Walt I'm getting what's called a core sample a little piece of wood that can help determine when this room was built dendrochronology is the science of dating wood by studying tree rings and nobody knows more about it in the American Southwest than dr. Jeff Dean I'm just wonder how accurate is the data well when we take this core back to the lab and analyze it we can date the year in which that tree was cut down really there is no plus or minus this is say 1120 and it's 1120 or not 11:19 and not 11 21 10 minutes later and I've got it my own piece of data to add to the scientific record your hand we should produce a core log you can blow the sawdust away drop the core still go what stick turns out this little sample carries an amazing amount of information tell me what we got yep let me show you what we just did in there this is a cross-section of another charcoal beam and so this core dated by matching the ring with variability in this sample to bring with variability in this one bit so each make sure I get this each ring is a year each ring is a year big rings mean what years small rings mean dry years and then by laying this core sample against it we can we can find out we can find out we're the course number this goes in the six years that's right and then how do we know what year we're looking at these are a master chart that we latest yes yes this this is part of the master chart and this series of ring widths in here are compared to those and once you find a match you can date the core thousands of core samples taken all over the southwest add up to produce a graph charting the annual rainfall from 450 ad to the present so looking at this was drought the cause of the chocolate decline well it was a major drought and a lot of people think that drought caused the abandonment of the canyon and the collapse of the system do you think so well I think it was part of the equation but there are other factors involved as well what were the others I think there was a combination of drought adverse conditions in the in the floodplain plus the high population obviously these ruins would represent a large number of people so you have these three factors that combine to trigger the abandonment of the canyon drought has always been a fact of life in the southwest the people of Chaco Canyon had weathered bad droughts before and jeff's tree-ring data show that those droughts didn't stop the ambitious building but in the 11 hundreds the drought did Chaco is an eerie place with its own mysteries like how did its priests become powerful enough to get this huge ceremonial center built Archie Hansen said one theory is that Indians came north from Mexico some archeologists think that they took over Chaco terrorizing the people I've been to Mexico I know that the Toltecs and the Aztecs practiced bloody rituals of human sacrifice I've seen the skull racks they'd fill with the remains of their enemies maybe this could explain why cannibalism suddenly appeared in Anasazi history but it's just a theory if only these stones could talk but the Anasazi left us no written records was choco the scene of grizzly rituals that spread throughout the Anasazi world today some archaeologists are seeking answers to Chacos mysteries in the smaller communities which help supply the great city dr. John Kander and his archaeology students from Georgia State University are digging at one of these ruins I'm hoping John will be able to tell me more about what happened well this is a small household this community here which we call Blue Jay community pub we had three dozen of these small households maybe four dozen of them Chaco is 50 miles yeah that's a goober Terry it's a very exactly that way exactly how then how then does this site give you clues into the rise and fall of Chaco culture over there Chaco Canyon has very little of its own in the canyon there is a little bit of water there they certainly could support some farming but as far as other resources there's just not a lot that's there it's a middle of nowhere it's one of the most desolate places you'll find in the entire public Southwest these communities over here are a much better position there's a bit so they're wetter here there's more raw stone materials there's more wood and so these people here were the ones that were carrying a lot of the goods into Chaco Canyon to fuel it everything that Chaco did had to be fueled by people coming from outside of the area people in small villages just like this so that people here have what they need people here have what they need examine what does the Chaco culture have at these people yeah it's a great question that's what we're sort of trying to figure out exactly I think that most archaeologists would agree that Chaco eventually becomes a pretty powerful pilgrimage center one espousing a religious belief that these people seem to adhere to what the choco is religion was nobody knows for sure many archaeologists believe it had a dark side that could explain the instances of cannibalism and why people would walk 50 miles just to get close to its power leave so much and whatever is that chakras doing that I'm going to carry goods to Chaco fuel it's it's very existence and then I think Chaco Canyon began to do a grandfather's Palmateer lies that religious belief system if I'm materializing what they do is a create things you create things and if those things are important for the for the religious belief system for the rituals for the ceremonies then that means that it can be controlled other people need those things turquoise and shale and for people out here they felt they needed those things and so in order to get those things I had to go there and they probably then brought things to chocolatini in exchange for just a little piece of that belief system a little piece of the religion that they can bring back here to their small communities and then help to fuel they thought was going to be success here as I look around John's dig I'm reminded again that archaeology is painstaking work piecing together answers from bits of pottery turquoise and bone the simplest of questions can often take years to answer and even then there's always room for debate Jon you've given me a good sense of how this community related to the Chaco culture it had it all fall apart well the priestly leaders of Chaco Canyon their power and authority was based on a belief system and that's really all they had so it's really a house of cards and if any of those cards have removed and the whole thing comes falling down which was the one card then they did that in the early 1100 there was a drought it was a relatively minor drought particularly in comparison to other droughts the problem people have experienced but it probably was just enough to cause the problems but essentially there's a power vacuum and that leads to a lot of social chaos but did social chaos mean violence I asked John was this which drove the Anasazi to take refuge in the cliffs in certain parts of the bubbling world that's exactly what happens is the violence and the and the strife that results from this power vacuum leads people to retreat into those kinds of refuges moving north to places like Mesa Verde exactly what John says makes sense think of the thousands of people abandoning choco looking for shelter elsewhere in the four corners competition must have been fierce it's not hard to imagine that it was brutal - it's time to put the pieces of the mystery together but there's one last clue I need to explore at John can't nurs dig I learned that many archaeologists believe at the fall of Chaco Canyon around 1150 ad brought social chaos and violence to the Anasazi world that's about the same time cannibalism peaked and when Archie's Pueblo experienced its brutal massacre is this the answer to the Anasazi mystery of why they moved into the cliffs and then abandoned the four corners hit there's another side to this story Indians to the south of the four corners claim to be descended from the Anasazi the Pueblo the Zuni and the Hopi have their own oral histories about their ancient ancestors I spoken to one Hopi at Mesa Verde larysa Kumar woman who told me that the Anasazi moved to the cliffs to be closer to their water sources now I'm going to hear more of the Hopi side of the story [Music] I've come to southeastern Utah to the San Juan River to take a trip and take a look at their rock art there's a few petroglyphs just downriver from us and to see if I can get a feel for the culture I've arranged for some Hopi elders to take a ride down the river with me all right well then Wilton Kuya Bahama and Dalton Taylor our elders from the Hopi reservation in Arizona south of the four corners Dawa tale is Dalton some [Music] Native Americans who claim ancestral ties with the Anasazi are very hesitant to share their clan histories it's private and respect I'm cautious or any questions do you have a personal perspective on the Anasazi and what they did out here the other side I think we have a I think there's there's one misunderstanding about the word Anasazi we call them massage you know the term Anasazi isn't exactly popular among people who claim to be their descendants that's because it's a Navajo word that means ancient enemies today many prefer to use the term ancestral Puebloans instead of Anasazi we near a bend in the river the elders are quiet so unquiet - but I'm hoping that the petroglyphs will soon see will be enough to set them talking [Music] we pull up to take a look at some petroglyphs life-size figures picked out by the ancient Anasazi 1500 years ago but they're just too old the Hopi can't interpret them yet nearby are some other petroglyphs they find varies there's something right here oh yeah that's the spiral that's a spiral that's a migration story migration oh yeah come on shall we hear her new deed just a sinner where do you paint it and when they go with a goal this way to the Hopi the spiral means their people were once here at this place in the four corners to them the Anasazi mystery is simply a story of migrations they abandon the area because it was time for them to go not because of social chaos or violence it takes several hours but I finally feel comfortable enough to ask Wilton the toughest question of all where the Anasazi cannibals no not not really how do you know because from the time when a migration started a long time ago there is no enemies until the second group like narrows and these are the peyote they're the ones that come in and doing the warfare my thing with the Hopi people to the Hopi there were no enemies before the Navajo knew and they didn't come to the four corners until long after the Anasazi were gone but what if the enemy wasn't an invader I remember what Vaughn said to me on that remote ledge in cedar Mesa my opinion there was there was all sorts of conflicts going on probably my guess is among people living here not outside forces necessarily some people do think that there was an outside influence of other people coming in and putting pressure on these people my guess is it's probably people you know making the next Canyon over as I learned from Vaughn Archie and John Kanter violence and probably warfare drove the Anasazi into the cliffs but it's most likely that their enemy was none other than the Anasazi themselves as for the second half of the mystery the hopi story of migration fits the Anasazi didn't disappear they simply left the four corners the tree rings show that a great drought descended on this area in the late 13th century weary from decades of fighting the survivors most likely did what their ancestors had done ages before they migrated south to begin a new life on our last stop we visit the river house ruin it was a sacred place for the ancient Anasazi it still is for the Hopi today people we make an offering of cornmeal [Music] new evidence may one day settle the issue but for now archeologists and modern Pueblo uns continue the debate searching for clues left in the steep stone walls of America's red rock canyons [Music] the place where Arizona Colorado Utah and New Mexico come together it was the heart of the Anasazi homeland for more than a thousand years today most of this region is covered with forests of pinyon pine and juniper yet 900 years ago it was full of fields of corn squash and beans archaeologists believe the Anasazi supported 40 to 50,000 people in this area perhaps Larissa was right perhaps some of the Anasazi water sources dried out forcing them toward the steep springs I'm imagining what it must have been like to move off the tops of the mesas and onto the sides of the cliffs talk about living on the edge think of the children and elderly on these cliff faces and they did this throughout the Four Corners region even in some of the most remote and desolate canyons why would the Anasazi make such a change take such a risk what can these massive stone walls offer them to make the move worthwhile to answer these questions I need to get my feet back on solid ground where I can hike and explore some of the more isolated cliff dwellings to help me get to these distant dwellings I'm teaming up with Vaughn Hayden fel Vaughn is an accomplished mountaineer and local guide who knows these canyons and their Anasazi sites like this week join me in the American Southwest as I explore one of our key ologies greatest mysteries why did the ancient inhabitants of this land the Anasazi build these incredible cliff dwellings only to abandon them decades later and seemingly disappear from history unbelievable to find out I'm gonna take to the air dangle from dangerous cliffs and explore some of America's most spectacular archaeological sites we're digging for the truth and we're going to extreme to do it I'll meet you over there [Music] Mesa Verde southwestern Colorado land of rugged canyons soaring mesas and some of America's most stunning prehistoric ruins hit ever since these abandoned villages were first discovered in the late 19th century they've puzzled visitors and archaeologists pretty incredible huh can you imagine building something like this on the face of a cliff and actually living up here hi I'm Josh Bernstein the American Southwest is my home but I've never gotten to the bottom of its most fascinating mystery until now why did the Anasazi decide to move to the cliff signs and why would they then abandon this entire region only decades later never to return these questions are at the heart of a debate now raging between archeologists and Native Americans at stake is the traditional image of the peaceful Anasazi everyone agrees that's how they began the people who became known as the Anasazi started to farm this area of the American Southwest as early as 180 for most of their history they lived in small scattered villages on the mesas and in the valleys but in the middle of the 13th century something happened the Anasazi began to cluster together they built high walls around their settlements or took the precarious step of moving whole villages onto the cliff sides then fewer than 50 years later they abandoned these homes - leading behind most of their possessions as if they plan to return instead they seemed to disappear from history where the Anasazi invaded by another tribe or did they succumb to drought why did this complex and far-reaching civilization suddenly collapse what happened my exploration begins with Larisa kuma wanna a ranger at Mesa Verde National Park in addition to her years teaching people about these ruins Larissa is also a member of the Hopi Tribe the Hopi claimed the Anasazi are their ancestors and Larissa's insights may point me in the right direction so there's no running rivers no streams in the bottom of any of these canyons so their main water source would have been seep Springs so there's no water down there no water the only water would be in the back these alcoves here it is what it's thought that's the reason why the transition happened you know from the Mesa the back of his weather hands Iman yeah nice to meet you go on it's going well it's beautiful day good I heard you're the man you can show me some remote sites mind Vonn spent the last 20 years exploring the ruins of Utah cedar Mesa plateau he's played a critical role in the preservation and interpretation of many sites he's excited to take me to one of his favorites we drive in as far as we can go the rest will be on foot where we're going is pretty far out there yeah and no it's a fairly difficult route in there so that's yep the blooms there Vaughn tells me this plateau is cut by dozens of sheer slick rock canyons where the Anasazi lived will have to rappel to get down into one alright here we are we're headed over there yeah get that lower set of ruins up against the cliff face that's an upper set of ruins right up in there Wow right under that cliff yeah people actually lived yeah apparently so you know it's an amazing thing but people were hunkered all over in these this is kind of that final phase before the abandom of here so people are getting defensive and they're starting to hunker into these little spots that have water they're defending to water I would think so I mean I think that's got to be part of what's going on you know that they're here they've got these towers across here top sites down into these cliff dwellings you got the water source right there why not build closer to them Larissa's answer was practical but I felt it avoided an important question the Anasazi could have accessed these seep Springs without living on the faces of these cliffs why subject an entire community to such exposure and risk many archeologists now think that the ancient Anasazi had a darker side marked by massacres and even cannibalism could violence explain the move to the cliffs the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are certainly impressive but there are hundreds of other sites throughout this region perhaps seeing some other dwellings would give me greater insights into why the Anasazi made such a drastic move to do this I need a significant change of perspective this is a twin si twin prop home built experimental plane while it might not comply with FAA regulations it's open cockpit makes it perfect for spotting Clifton's logistics where the camera goes where they fly my pilots get blanky he flew p-51 Mustangs during World War two neither do I so we're even on that scorch ash with those encouraging words we're off flying in a plane that feels like it's made of rubber bands and balsa wood this part of the Southwest is known as the four corners this week join me in the American Southwest as I explore one of our theologies greatest mysteries why did the ancient inhabitants of this land the Anasazi build these incredible cliff dwellings only to abandon them decades later and seemingly disappear from history unbelievable to find out I'm going to take to the air dangle from dangerous cliffs and explore some of America's most spectacular archaeological sites we're digging for the truth and we're going to extreme to do it I'll meet you over there [Music] Mesa Verde southwestern Colorado land of rugged canyons soaring mesas and some of America's most stunning prehistoric ruins it ever since these abandoned villages were first discovered in the late 19th century they've puzzled visitors and archaeologists pretty incredible huh can you imagine building something like this on the face of a cliff and actually living up here hi I'm Josh Bernstein and the American Southwest is my home but I've never gotten to the bottom of its most fascinating mystery until now why did the Anasazi decide to move to the cliff sighs and why would they then abandon this entire region only decades later never to return these questions are at the heart of a debate now raging between archeologists and Native Americans at stake is the traditional image of the peaceful Anasazi everyone agrees that's how they began the people who became known as the Anasazi started to farm this area of the American Southwest as early as 180 for most of their history they lived in small scattered villages on the mesas and in the valleys but in the middle of the 13th century something happened the Anasazi began to cluster together they built high walls around their settlements or took too precarious step of moving whole villages onto the cliff sides then fewer than 50 years later they abandoned these homes - leaving behind most of their possessions as if they plan to return instead they seemed to disappear from history where the Anasazi invaded by another tribe or did they succumb to drought why did this complex and far-reaching civilization suddenly collapse what happened my exploration begins with Larissa Kumar one a ranger at Mesa Verde National Park in addition to her years teaching people about these ruins Larissa is also a member of the Hopi Tribe the Hopi claimed the Anasazi are their ancestors and Larissa's insights may point me in the right direction so there's no running rivers no streams in the bottom of any of these canyons so their main water source would have been seep Springs so there's no water down there no water no water would be in the back of these alcoves here it is well also this part of the Southwest is known as the four corners the place where Arizona Colorado Utah and New Mexico come together it was the heart of the Anasazi homeland for more than a thousand years today most of this region is covered with forests of pinyon pine and juniper yet 900 years ago it was full of fields of corn squash and beans archaeologists believe the Anasazi supported 40 to 50,000 people in this area perhaps Larisa was right perhaps some of the Anasazi water sources dried out forcing them toward the steep springs I'm imagining what it must have been like to move off the tops of the mesas and onto the sides of the cliffs talk about living on the edge think of the children and elderly on these cliff faces and they did this throughout the Four Corners region even in some of the most remote and desolate canyons why would the Anasazi make such a change take such a risk what could these massive stone walls offer them to make the move worthwhile to answer these questions I need to get my feet back on solid ground where I can hike and explore some of the more isolated cliff dwellings to help me get to these distant dwellings I'm teaming up with von Hagens it's thought that's the reason why the transition happened you know from the Mesa top sites down into these cliff dwellings you got the water source right there why not build closer to them Larissa's answer was practical but I felt it avoided an important question the Anasazi could have accessed these steep Springs without living on the faces of these cliffs why subject an entire community to such exposure and risk many archaeologists now think that the ancient Anasazi had a darker side marked by massacres and even cannibalism could violence explain the move to the cliffs the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are certainly impressive but there are hundreds of other sites throughout this region perhaps seeing some other dwellings would give me greater insights into why the Anasazi made such a drastic move to do this I need a significant change of perspective this is a twin see twin prop home built experimental plane well it might not comply with FAA regulations it's open cockpit makes it perfect for spotting cliffs logistics where the camera goes where they fly my pilots get blanky he flew p-51 Mustangs during world war ii neither do i so we're even on that scorch ash with those encouraging words we're off flying in a plane that feels like it's made of rubber bands and Vaughan is an accomplished Mountaineer and local guide who knows these canyons and their Anasazi sites like the back of his weather hands Eman yeah nice to meet you it's going well it's beautiful day good I heard you're the man who can show me some remote sites here you go in mind Vaughn spent the last 20 years exploring the ruins of Utah cedar Mesa plateau he's played a critical role in the preservation and interpretation of many sites he's excited to take me to one of his favorites we drive in as far as we can go the rest will be on foot where we're going it's pretty far out there uh yeah and no it's a fairly difficult route in there so that's yet the blooms there Vaughn tells me this plateau is cut by dozens of sheer slick rock canyons where the Anasazi lived will have to rappel to get down into one all right here we are see we're headed all the way over there yeah get that lower set of ruins up against the cliff face that's an upper set of ruins right up in there Wow right under that cliff yeah people actually lived yeah apparently so you know it's an amazing thing but people were hunkered all over in these this is kind of that final phase before the abandonment here so people are getting defensive and they're starting to hunker into these